Traditional methods for diagnosis and treatment of processing difficulties, integration problems, imbalances and abnormal postures of various types are known in the art and fail to address and work with the more than 160,000 peripheral retinal fibers in each eye that connect to parts of the brain and that have nothing to do with eyesight but instead are connected to the midbrain and the limbic system where all of the non-visual sensory input systems link. Also, traditional methods fail to address the linkages of all of the seven sensory systems: visual, auditory, vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile, olfactory and gustatory, and other parts of the somatosensory system, and instead focus on only the linkages of three or four systems and, even those, not in connection with the peripheral retinal fibers.
Traditional methods treat these sensory integration and processing problems internally, for example, with medications such as muscle relaxers, anti-depressants and stimulants and externally, for example, by hearing aids, standard eyeglasses, orthotics, removal of allergens, physical and sensory therapies and behavior modifications.
The standard method of optometric care is to use lenses to correct central eyesight. The traditional optometrist will prescribe the lenses that create the best central vision for a patient. If the patient still has problems then, perhaps, the optometrist will try a non-yoked prism, a tint or other occluder or, but rarely and for a different purpose, a yoked prism. This is a very limited method for diagnosis and treatment, primarily because it ignores the peripheral retina. In contrast, a feature of the method of the present invention is to not begin by treating central vision, but rather, for example, to start with a yoked prism which bends the light up or down or at an angle from the side. This triggers a reflex in the eyes pointing in the direction of the light, which in turn causes the head to follow, then the body to turn and twist to follow the light, thus shifting the center of gravity and the weight bearing posture of the patient and therefore demonstrating a reflex reaction between the retinal pathways and the body. Sometimes putting a yoked prism on a patient replaces the need for standard lenses. The yoked prism makes the patient tip his head in a different way and he can then see more clearly and more comfortably. Concomitant with this intervention, the stability of sensory integration and retinal receptor sensitivity and/or its dysfunction can be evaluated by using the Z-Bell Test, which is a diagnostic method within the present invention.
There are limitations to the standard eye evaluation because it is performed behind a phoropter where the head position is not necessarily habitual and the side vision is limited. Therefore, the peripheral retinal sensors are receiving but minimal light and are not being tested. Also, when seated in an examination chair, the patient is not required to balance against gravity or to react quickly. Virtually all testing is at a cortical level, requiring the patient to consciously answer questions.
Out of machine testing does determine the existence of peripheral vision but not its use or interaction with central eyesight. Yet, the most recent research shows that the peripheral retinal receptors are much more involved in how the central visual system is used and, therefore, the interaction of peripheral and central systems is critical to a patient's response to environmental changes.
The retina is an extension of brain tissue, converting light energy into electrical signals that are transmitted to precisely mapped sections in various regions of the brain. A significant portion of the retinal sensors transmits information to non-visual centers. There are many connections between the retina and the other senses. Light entering the eye instantly stimulates the brain at a reflexive, subcortical level and a responsive, cortical level. The subcortical pathways connecting the retina to the limbic system and the midbrain react faster than the cortical visual signals. Neither these unconscious pathways nor the interaction between sensory inputs is being evaluated during a standard visual evaluation.
Beyond the traditional methods of treatment, the state of the art includes non-traditional, marginal treatments such as the Bolles Sensory Learning Program and Stewart's Sensory-View machine, Maxsight contact lenses, and Irlen filters. While these methods do go beyond normal treatment protocols to address sensory integration problems, they also are limiting and deficient in that they fail to address linkages and therefore diagnoses and treatments affecting all seven sensory systems: visual, auditory, vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile, olfactory and gustatory, and other parts of the somatosensory system. They focus only on the linkages of, at most, three or four systems and, even those, not in connection with the peripheral retinal fibers and eye moisture. Bolles attempts to link only auditory, visual and vestibular input and Stewart measures how a patient perceives surrounding space and, therefore, orientation, but fails to address either alterations of amount and direction of entering light and alteration of eye moisture.